Newspaper Creative Benchmarking AUGUST 2011

Significantly different to Retail Average at 90% c.l. All Newspaper NormsOptus Ad size: FPC Appeared: July 2011 Position: Good Weekend Ads tested: Three in total, Sydney Research Sample: n=109, P16+ Benchmark: Newspaper Norm Methodology Executive Summary RoleMap™ The Optus ‘Tomorrow’s Stars’ ad has achieved significantly strong results in delivering to Affinity and also demonstrates differentiation from competitors. Creatively, the imagery is well received however the messaging and brand attribution is not as clear as Optus might have wanted. A number of respondents found the ad confusing based on their experience of Optus, and were looking for the offer. The likely actions taken as a result of this advertising are ‘long tail’ actions that relate to the strong Affinity results. These are good results as typically respondents judge Telecommunications ads harshly and miscomprehension of messages is often a problem in this category. The Optus ad has performed significantly well against the role of Affinity and delivers a strong result against (Re)Appraisal. 1 This ad is now our #1 Affinity result against twelve ads tested within the Telecommunications category.

General recurring themes were: Positive about the imagery used ‘Animals’ Not sure what they are trying to sell me The ad has done very well against most positive measures and the imagery used is well received. However, respondents struggled to be clear on the key message of the advertising, reflected by the score against “Makes it easy to see what is on offer”. 42% of respondents were generally correct in identifying key messages (i.e. calling for nominations for small sided football awards). However 58% struggled nominating more generic concepts like ‘football’, with 25% choosing ‘don’t know’. “Seeking funding for training of younger sports stars?” “Sponsorship of young sport award initiative” “Nominate a young sports star for a prize” “Entry into some competition?” Diagnostics Main Message “Optus sponsors junior soccer” “I don't care about soccer...it would be better if they just gave me a cheaper price on phone calls than worry about soccer” “It is doing something to promote sport amongst our children” “Great photo but no information on what Optus is selling.” “Optus ads are more interesting because they always feature animals” Opinion of the ad “Optus does more than being a telco”

Results for these measures were within statistical tolerances. Brand Linkage respondents n=11 so these results should be viewed with caution. Recognition and Linkage can also be affected by the timing of research and weight of the campaign. This ad has scored a significantly high results for differentiation from competitors. The other measures are within statistical tolerances for norms. The main actions driven from the ad are Word of Mouth, and Search. This along with ‘Remember for Later’ are typical responses to brand ads such as this one (and is reflected in the high Affinity score seen in Role Map) Topline Measures Brand Equity Impact ActionMap ™

Optus Benchmark Comparisons Newspaper Norms The ‘Bananas’ iPhone ad (tested Aug ‘10) achieved good scores for Extension and Affinity, while meeting Norms for Call to Action. The ‘First 3 Months’ ad (tested Aug ‘08) remains the category #1 for driving a Call to Action. It also performed significantly well against Extension and delivered well on Information.

Ranking Affinity Scores for Telco Ads Tested Since 2008 Optus ads are the #1 and #2 ads for Affinity for Telcos within our database, although typically, this category struggles to achieve high scores for Affinity For more information on this ad and others in our Creative Benchmarking series, please contact Rachael Lonergan on (02) or Ranking Differentiation Scores for Telco Ads Tested Since 2008 Optus holds the #4 and #5 spots for differentiating within the Telco category Newspaper Creative Benchmarking is a component of the Newspaper Effectiveness Metric, which is run by industry marketing body, The Newspaper Works. As at June 2011, we have tested over 320 ads, across many categories. To learn more about who we are, our testing methodology and to access further information, please visit us at